The Hour of Code: 3 Student Driven Activities for your School in 2017

In this episode of the TechEducator Podcast, we take a look at three ways you can prepare your students for this years HOUR of CODE. 

Why are Coding and Programming skills important? 

Teaching students computer science skills not only can help provide important non-linear thinking skills into a student's vocabulary, but it is becoming more and more essential for students to be able to use logical thinking when planning projects and other daily activities. 

After listening to this podcast, we hope you take a moment to think about and try out these three simple activities that can be implemented by teachers of all subjects and age levels. If you do have a chance to try any of these, please stop by soon and leave us a comment below sharing your story.

Edtech in the NewsGoogle Calendar gets a refresh with updated features.Learn OneNote Conference – Nov 7-13 – Online Conference
In this episode, you will learn:How to use Minecraft EDU as a teaching tool through their Make Code website.Make code is a website supported by Microsoft. It supports several different projects and platforms. In this demo we will explore the Minecraft coding tools on the Make code site.How to animate your name using Scratch.This simple activity developed by the scholars at Scratch is a great introduction for students and teachers. Consider the potential of animating letters to spell keywords from anything you are studying.How to win your school’s Instagram Activity Coding with Robots, put a grid on itLooking for an easy way to get kids excited about computational thinking? Make a giant tape grid on the floor. You are gonna need 4 rolls of masking tape, a yardstick, and some kneepads.
Follow our PodcastThe TeacherCast Educational Broadcasting Network | @TeacherCastThe TechEducator Podcast | @TechEdShow
Follow our HostsJeff Bradbury | @JeffBradburyDr. Sam Patterson | @SamPatueJennifer Judkins | @TeachingForwardJosh Gauthier | @MrGFactoftheDayRob Pennington | @RobPennington9
Join the Conversation

Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live

In this episode of the TechEducator Podcast, we take a look at three ways you can prepare your students for this years HOUR of CODE. 

Why are Coding and Programming skills important? 

Teaching students computer science skills not only can help provide important non-linear thinking skills into a student's vocabulary, but it is becoming more and more essential for students to be able to use logical thinking when planning projects and other daily activities. 

After listening to this podcast, we hope you take a moment to think about and try out these three simple activities that can be implemented by teachers of all subjects and age levels. If you do have a chance to try any of these, please stop by soon and leave us a comment below sharing your story.

Edtech in the NewsGoogle Calendar gets a refresh with updated features.Learn OneNote Conference – Nov 7-13 – Online Conference
In this episode, you will learn:How to use Minecraft EDU as a teaching tool through their Make Code website.Make code is a website supported by Microsoft. It supports several different projects and platforms. In this demo we will explore the Minecraft coding tools on the Make code site.How to animate your name using Scratch.This simple activity developed by the scholars at Scratch is a great introduction for students and teachers. Consider the potential of animating letters to spell keywords from anything you are studying.How to win your school’s Instagram Activity Coding with Robots, put a grid on itLooking for an easy way to get kids excited about computational thinking? Make a giant tape grid on the floor. You are gonna need 4 rolls of masking tape, a yardstick, and some kneepads.
Follow our PodcastThe TeacherCast Educational Broadcasting Network | @TeacherCastThe TechEducator Podcast | @TechEdShow
Follow our HostsJeff Bradbury | @JeffBradburyDr. Sam Patterson | @SamPatueJennifer Judkins | @TeachingForwardJosh Gauthier | @MrGFactoftheDayRob Pennington | @RobPennington9
Join the Conversation

Our favorite part of recording a live podcast each week is participating in the great conversations that happen on our live chat, on social media, and in our comments section.

This weeks question is:

Question: Other than the activities and lessons listed above, what are you doing this year with your students to teach them about coding, programming, and Computer Science?

Please share your stories and resources below in our comments section.

Explore these Resources

In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:

http://www.beyondthehourofcode.com10 Innovative Ways to Bring STEM to SchoolsCurious George STEMThe Educator’s Guide to Real Estate Lesson Plans: Math & ScienceComputer Programming Basics Lesson Plan: Tynker GamesThe Educator’s Guide to Applying Real-World Math: 15 Resources with over 100 Lesson PlansArchitecture Activities to Help You Address NGSS Engineering StandardsMaking Science Labs Accessible to Students with Disabilities
Tech Tip of the WeekAre you interested in bringing coding, programming, or robotics into your classroom but are simply feeling overwhelmed by the thought? Did you know that many of your favorite STEM companies are providing standards-based curriculum for FREE right on their websites? This curriculum might be app-based, or PDF based, but it is all designed to provide you with exactly what you need to try something different in your class this year.
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Recorded October 18, 2017